Gus Malzahn Back In Town To Honor Friend

Share this:

This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated.

Please enable Javascript to watch this video

Auburn football coach Gus Malzahn has always had a soft spot in his heart for Springdale. Thursday he was back in town to honor a close friend who passed away three years ago.

Kevin Johnson was an assistant under Malzahn at Shiloh Christian and Springdale high schools and died from melanoma in 2011. After his death, Johnson's family set up a scholarship in his memory. Malzahn thought it was imperative he come back for the third annual Coach Kevin Johnson Memorial Golf Tournament at the Creek s Golf Course in Cave Springs.

“He was one of my best friends in the world,” said Malzahn. “His family is here and I just wanted to support a great cause in his memory. He was a great man of character and a great example for his players and everybody around him.”

“It's neat to see Gus's true character,” said Kevin Johnson’s son Evan Johnson. “He took a week out of his busy schedule and came all the way out here to support us.”

The golf outing services as a fundraiser for the Kevin Johnson Memorial Scholarship. Each year a graduating senior from both Har-Ber and Springdale earn the award. This year’s recipients were Cheyenne Mendenhall from Har-Ber and Ruby Juarez from Springdale.

Share this:

2 comments

soonerfan

This is a Great story. Coach came back to help Family Benefit. That shows he hasn’t forgot where he came from. Coach Gus you done a Great thing today. Know you gotta have a busy schedule but you made time.